Jing'an Temple, originally built during Sun Quan's reign but relocated during the Sung Dynasty and rebuilt during the Qing.

Though a haven of solemn quietude (probably due to the entrance fee of 30 yuan, which is prohibitive to most Chinese), as soon as you look up (cf. Burberry sign) you'll find that you're still in the same old materialistic Shanghai.

(These are way more representative of Shanghai than the photos I posted before...)

Re: LW's travel photo thread (image-intensive)

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:54 am

by Lady Wu

Nanjing, formerly Jianye, is now only a 1.5 hour train ride away from Shanghai thanks to the new high-speed train (running up to over 300km/h). In comparison, in RTK 11 it takes a whole 50 days to march a swords unit from Jianye to Wu (modern day Shanghai is just slightly downriver from Wu) (Thanks Tigger for checking.). If they had this back in RTK11 time they could have conquered Jiangdong and make it home for dinner.

Nanjing is a city of mad history. Already an important city in the south during the Spring and Autumn period, it became known as Moling during the Eastern Han. Sun Quan renamed the city Jianye, and made it his capital. The city continued to be the capital of various southern dynasties during the civil war period after the fall of the Western Jin. Nanjing was the first capital of the Ming Dynasty, and it was during then that most of the city was built up. Many Ming-era buildings still exist in the city.

One such building is the Drum Tower, now in the middle of a large roundabout in the middle of the city.

When Zhu Yuanzhang made Nanjing his capital city, he built a massive city wall, probably the world's longest, around the city. Many parts of the wall are still preserved, including this section that surrounds the Xuanwu Lake park:

Jiming Temple

Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum (and the many stairs to take for the pilgrimage--this is one of the few tourist sites with free admission in China)

"The Chinese Nationalist Party buried Premier Dr. Sun here. 1st of June, 18th year of the Republic of China"

"12th of March, 15th year of the Republic of China. The Chinese Nationalist Party laid the cornerstone for Premier Dr. Sun's Mausoleum"

The outside of the hall

A marble statue of Sun Yat-sen sits in the middle of the hall. Photos were not permitted inside. Perhaps it was to respect Dr. Sun, or perhaps it was to prevent people from taking photos of the many Kuomintang symbols inside.

Back at the entrance gate at the bottom. The horizontal plaque says 博愛 ("universal love").

But the single most impressive thing about this site is that they have a sign saying where each and every toilet is and how far they are from each other!

Next to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is the Linggu Temple complex. It's a strange mix of an ancient Buddhist Temple and various buildings from the Republic era honouring those who fell during the Revolution.

The temple itself. Within it is enshrined a relic of the monk Xuanzang (= Sanzang/Tripitaka of Journey to the West fame). We saw the gold shrine supposedly with it inside (a piece of his skull), but photos were not allowed in the hall.

Then there's this pagoda commemorating again those who fell during the Revolution. On the outside was Chiang Kai-shek's calligraphy saying "Loyalty and dedication to the nation"; the inside walls were lined with Sun Yat-sen's writings.

View from the ninth floor, aka the top.

(I have a soft spot for pagodas.)

Re: LW's travel photo thread (image-intensive)

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 5:20 am

by Lady Wu

Tongli, a small town outside Suzhou, is famous for its Venice-like canals and ancient Chinese town charm.

In it is the Retreat and Reflection Garden, a Ming-dynasty Suzhou garden and a UNESCO heritage site:

Re: LW's travel photo thread (image-intensive)

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 5:27 am

by Lady Wu

Hangzhou is next.

West Lake:

Longjing (Dragon Well), a famous region producing a tea of the same name.

Teahouse 1

Teahouse 2

Tea

A hiking trail through the tea farms:

Jiuxi:

Re: LW's travel photo thread (image-intensive)

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 1:26 am

by Lady Wu

A part of Hong Kong that you probably haven't seen before:

The volcanic rock section of the Hong Kong Geopark:

This is also the starting point of the MacLehose Trail, a 100km hiking trail named after a former British governor who established the Country Park system of Hong Kong.

Cows. Yes there are still farms in HK.

The trail begins by going around High Island Reservoir:

East Dam:

Po Bin Chau, a sea stack:

This part of the Geopark is known for its one-of-a-kind hexagonal rock columns. The Geopark's website explains how these columns were formed.

A sea-cave:

Re: LW's travel photo thread (image-intensive)

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 3:09 am

by Nazne

Lady Wu wrote:A part of Hong Kong that you probably haven't seen before:

LW, that park is beautiful, and holy shit those rocks are warped

Also, that picture up there... what *is* that? It looks like a UFO on top of a small plateau, but it has trees growing out the top?!

Re: LW's travel photo thread (image-intensive)

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 4:13 am

by Lady Wu

Yeah, HK has UFOs too, didn't you know?

... actually I don't know what it is exactly, either. Probably a water tower/pump. The trees are actually on a piece of land much further back, but perspective is fun.

Re: LW's travel photo thread (image-intensive)

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 4:32 am

by Lady Wu

This is a more urban hike in Hong Kong--from Tsz Wan Shan in Kowloon to Shatin, New Territories.

The hill in the background is Tate's Cairn.

A coral tree:

A monkey...

...and how to protect yourself from one:

View of Kowloon

The trail passes through two country parks and numerous barbecue sites. Hong Kongers are crazy about food and BBQs. In fact, for most people, the only reason to go outdoors is to BBQ. Here's a trail to a BBQ site:

View of Shatin, on the other side of the hill:

Shatin is a bustling "New Town" (well, it was new like 30 years ago), and is an eclectic mix of old fishing village charm and new happening city.